Final Judgment: It's a Lifestyle.

What did Jesus mean when he said we needed to visit the sick? In Matthew 25 when speaking on the last judgment, Jesus said that His people were the ones who visited the sick, clothed those in need of clothes, visited those in prison. 

What does Jesus say about those he calls to eternal life? What does Jesus say his followers will do? What will they be about? In this particular section of Matthew, Jesus is seperating the goats from the sheep. He is separating the true followers of Christ from the rest--including those that may profess to be Christians, but are not following Jesus. This is the final judgment. THIS IS IT!

Let me go ahead and explain just a bit about what that means. What does it mean Jesus separates the true Christians from the rest? How can I be sure of my salvation?

As Christians, we are told to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) We should constantly be checking and ensuring where we are in our walk with the Lord. We should constantly be growing in our faith. We can only be growing in our faith if we are praying (and listening to God's voice). We need to be reading His Word (the Bible) on a daily basis! We need to be A. Growing in our knowledge of the Lord. (Reading God's Word, Fellowshiping with other believers who are walking the Christian walk) B. Bearing fruit. In John 15, we are told that we are to be bearing fruit. Jesus is our vine. He is our power source. We need to be growing in different areas of our lives. We need to seeking to live a more obedient life to Christ. We need to be pursuing a relationship with Him. Some of fruits are things like: patience, self-control, gentleness, love, and faithfulness. There are others as well.

Most important is the Holy Spirit. We should know that the Holy Spirit is living and working inside of us. We will feel convicted when we are committing sins. Also the more we grow in the Lord, our faith in Him is going to come out through our actions. We are not saved by doing good works, but our faith will come out as we continue to grow in our Lord Jesus!

James 2:17-19 says:

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Maybe, you are reading this and are not feeling confident in your salvation. Stop all the distractions right now, and pray. Read and pray. This is a good website to go to if you are still feeling unsure and stuck with questions.

1. First, we must admit to God that we are sinners. We must realize that our sins have definite consequences. My sins have consequences. Your sins have consequences. Each one of us will have to answer for all that we have said and done. Our sins will result in a physical and spiritual death without Christ. We need to recognize this! Our sins have separated us from God, and stopped us from receiving the blessings that He has given us. One of those blessings is Heaven.
2. Second, we must believe that God sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid the price, so that we would not have to be separated from God.
3. Third, we must confess Christ as our Lord! Jesus died on the cross for our sins! We should honor him with our lives, and choose to have a daily relationship with Jesus!

These are the steps of becoming a Christian. As we learn and grow in Christ, we will live differently. We will seek to live obediently. Philippians 2:12 can also be said this way: "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."

Are we seeking to obey God with deep reverence and Godly fear?

Today's scripture is on the Final Judgement. We will either have inheritance of God's Kingdom from the obedience of following Jesus, or reap the punishment from not following God. God sent his son to pay for our sins. It is about seeking justice. God is all about justice. Does that mean we will always be obedient? We all fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. God seeks our heart. God knows our hearts. He knows our motives. God is not going to let us slide by if He has called us to do more. God is not like a human who will not know if we are giving our all or not. God is our Creator! He knows us better than we know ourselves, as Psalms 139 teaches us.

Matthew 25:31-40 says: 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

What is happening?

Jesus is on the throne.

There are angels with Him.

All the nations will be there! Meaning, the entire world will be there!

Followers of Jesus on the right; Everyone else on the left.

Jesus, the King, will tell his followers to "COME!"

They have inherited the Kingdom!

It is not just going to church.

It is more than that!

It is a lifestyle of literally "denying ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Jesus". (Luke 9:23)

It is feeding the hungry.

It is giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is clothing the poor.

It is visiting the sick.

It is visiting those in prison.

It is welcoming a stranger.

In Jesus' exact words, whatever we do to the least of these--we are doing to Jesus Christ the King of the world!

What happens if we don't? What if we choose to (A) Not follow Jesus (B) Not give Him our life. Ultimately, they both have the same consequence.

Let's look further in the passage.

Here is Matthew 25:41-46: 

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We will be told to depart from Jesus!

Put in eternal fire with the devil and his angels.

The punishment is an eternal one.

While the righteous inherit eternal life because of Jesus' sacrifice, those who choose not to follow Jesus with their lives will face eternal punishment. I know why I follow Jesus. I follow Jesus, because He is my friend, my companion, my husband. Jesus gives me strength to carry on through the days! According to Jesus, it is about more than going to church on Sunday mornings. It is about more than giving our tithes. Jesus wants our lives! 

What does Jesus say?

It is feeding the hungry.

It is giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is clothing the poor.

It is visiting the sick.

It is visiting those in prison.

It is welcoming a stranger.

It is a lifestyle!

Following Jesus COSTS.

Many people have given up their lives and died to follow Jesus!

We must count the COST that comes with following Jesus Christ.

It is about living beyond ourselves. It is about more than our feelings or our "wants". It is about choosing to recklessly abandoning our self-contained world, and FOLLOW the One who gave us life! God gave us life, and a way out of the mess we created with our sin! Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God in flesh. He became our sin offering. He paid the price we could NOT pay!

Choosing to follow Jesus means choosing to not follow the world. It means to give up your self interest for your desires to pursue God's desires. This is the easiest way to describe these verses. I know I fail at fulfilling Jesus' commands for my own life, but I am praying that God will continue to refine me and grow me in Him. I want to be more like Jesus and less like Stacey. I want to imitate more of Jesus, and become less like this world.

This world is all about "me, me, and me", while we should not be so self-center--it seems to be the worldly characteristics rubbing off on us. This world teaches us to worry, agonize over money, and do only what we want to do. This is not God's ways, no it is the world's ways.

In God's kingdom, things are much different. We are told to LOVE others. Jesus has shortened the ten commandments and given us two. We are to LOVE God and LOVE our neighbor. God does wants ALL of us! If you had someone who was your passion and desire, would you settle for less? What if they would only give you a hour once a year? Would you settle for this? Or, would you want more? We were SEPARATED from God, because of our sins! And, God gave us sooo much more! But, what did it cost? It cost Him his only son! His sinless son!

So yeah, God wants all your heart, mind, body, and soul! Does He not deserve it? The One who has GIVEN you life. Not only has He given you life, He has rebirthed you and given you aspiritual life!

We are told to give away everything to follow Jesus. Jesus knows the cost. God knows the cost. We too need to realize the cost, and then recklessly abandon ourselves, religion, and society. We need to just fall deeper in LOVE with Jesus, because it is a L-O-V-E relationship!

In visiting the sick, it is not so much the action--it is the heart behind the action. Are you doing it because it is required of you? Or, are you doing it because of your love for God and a compassion to be there and encourage others? Are you giving clothes to others, because you feel it is required of you? Or, are you doing it out of a love for others? Each of these things should be done out of LOVE for God. A kind of love that Jesus has CLEARLY demonstrated for us!

God wants our very best. He wants us to work as though we are serving Him, not our bosses, our teachers, our family members.. Same with how we can love others. Are we doing it with the same kind of motivation as though we were serving Christ?

It is about feeding the hungry.

It is about giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is about clothing the poor.

It is about visiting the sick.

It is about visiting those in prison.

It is about welcoming a stranger.

Jesus was about ALL of these things as He wanted the earth, and lived among us.

We are called to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). How can we do better at living this kind of life with the right motivations this week? How can we love others with humility?

Lent

It is that time of year: lent. If you are like me, you have no idea what lent is, or it's significance. Maybe, you have never heard the four letter word before. Maybe, you have seen posts about it on facebook. Maybe, you have heard about it from elsewhere. I am here to basically share my own thoughts on the subject. I am not an expert on lent, but I definitely believe it can be a time of blessings where our relationship with the Lord can be strengthened if our heart and motives are in the right place.

Lent is viewed as a chance to give up certain luxuries and begin to practice some form of self-disciplined. It originally started as a very traditional and religious practice. It is practiced by a variety of Christians. It may mainly be practiced by Catholics. I personally am not a catholic, but I am thankful to be able to enjoy fasting alongside friends. For some, it may be a religious thing. For others like myself, it is the chance to give up something and get closer to the Lord.

There are things that distract each and every one of us, which make our lives a constant battle to maintain self-control in our lives. The practice of lent is a new chance for me to join others and grow in my walk with the Lord and be better disciplined in a particular habit. Like many others, there are numerous things that I could focus my attention on, but I am choosing to stick to one thing that I want to exercise discipline over.

I love what it stands for, as it is a discipline of fasting. It is choosing to give up something, for the One who gave up everything for us. God loves us so much that He sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. He became our Passover. He became our sin offering. He paid our debt for our sin, when we could not. We were once enemies of God, and have now been reconciled to God! We must accept His free gift of salvation. Not one of us is righteous or deserves to be in a right relationship with God, but we are--- We are in a right relationship, because of God's great love for us! Through Christ, we can come to know Him and have eternal life! Not only do we have eternal life, but we get the joy of living with God forever. We get to enjoy the promise that: God will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5) We will never be alone or left to our own invisibly! Jesus is our comforter, savior, friend, shepherd, messiah, and our everlasting hope that never leaves us despaired.

The Bible may not talk directly about lent, but it talks greatly about fasting greatly. It is not a religious regulation, but it should be something that gives us great joy as we grow more in our relationship with God during times of fasting and praying. Praying should always accompany fasting, if we want results... if we want this time to grow us and bear us fruit (John 15:16) in our walk with God.

Before we look at examples of what we could give up for lent, it is important to remember what the Bible has to say about fasting:

Mark 2:18-20- Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (NLT)

The disciples of Jesus had no reason to fast, for Jesus was still with them. As the Church, we are waiting for the second coming of Christ. While we wait, we should fast. Different denominations hold to different values on fasting, but according to Jesus--His disciples will fast. Whatever your views, fasting is about drawing closer to Him as we await His second coming. It is about choosing to draw nearer to Him during these times we find ourselves in.

Matthew 6:16-18- “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NLT)

Remember, it is all about the heart. It is not about others, people pleasing, or even the attention we may receive from others. It is about us and the Lord. We need to envision that it is just us and God, because God weighs the motives of our heart. It is should not be about anyone or anything. It should only be about us wanting to grow closer to the Lord. He will see our motivation and our resulting actions, and give us the reward we deserve.

Mark 9:28-29- And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could not we cast him out?" And He said unto them, "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." (NKJV 21st century)

For the disciples, they were questioning why they could not cast out a demon. The reason was for the lack of prayer and fasting. Fasting draws us closer to God. It gives us the opportunity to do things that we may not ordinarily have the ability to do. It gives us a much deeper connection with God.

Isaiah 58:3-8- They say, “We fast to show honor to you. Why don’t you see us? We starve our bodies to show honor to you. Why don’t you notice us?” But God says, “You do things to please yourselves on those special days of fasting. And you punish your servants, not your own bodies. You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven! Do you think I want to see people punish their bodies on those days of fasting? Do you think I want people to look sad and bow their heads like dead plants? Do you think I want people to wear mourning clothes and sit in ashes to show their sadness? That is what you do on your days of fasting. Do you think that is what the LORD wants?

This is the kind of fasting we do not want to do. It is dishonoring to our Lord where our actions do not match the place in our heart. Instead of observing lent because it may be expected or because others are doing it, we need to check our heart and see where our motives are. God is after our heart, not just our actions. If we fast, but our heart is not in it... what is the point?

Continuing on in verse 6-8.. “I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders. I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have homes and bring them into your own homes. When you see people who have no clothes, give them your clothes! Don’t hide from your relatives when they need help.” If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the LORD will come following behind you. (Isaiah 58~NIV)

What kind of actions can we do that honors both where our hearts are at, and honors God? What kind of practice can we choose to do for the next 40 days that honors God? Maybe, it is not giving something up.. Maybe, it means giving something. It can be choosing to pray for someone daily, choosing to call and check on a friend each day of the week, dedicating ourselves to reading God's Word and let Him transform our lives during this time.

There are many other examples, but here are just a few ways to let our lives be impacted as we expectantly prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Some things we can give up: 

A specific meal (time used to pray and read His Word)

Certain foods

Soda

Texting

Using cell phone for purposes that are not a necessity

Games

Television

Movies

Music

Secular reading

Some things we could add into our lives:

Devoted time to spend in His Word

Time of prayer and listening to His voice

Make it a practice to help others (Volunteer at a shelter or food bank)

Praying for others daily

Instead of indulging in some of our regular habits and behaviors, we can choose to make a deliberate effort to be in God's Word more. If we are seeking to rid ourselves of a bad habit or behavior, we need to replace the bad habit with good habits. We need our time in God's Word. It does not matter who you are or what time of year it is. We each need to be spending time in God's Word. None of us spend enough time in God's Word. It is through this time in His presence through praying, listening, and reading His Word that God can speak volumes into our lives. In addition to being in the Word, each of us as God's children need to learn to serve others. Jesus said that the greatest in the Kingdom is the one who is a servant. (Mark 9:35) We need to spur one another toward love and good works! (Hebrews 10:24) Who can we help? How can we become more others-centered (Philippians 2: 4) this season? 

Pray and see where the Lord leads you this season!

Month 1 of Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Month One--January!


It may have taken me a bit more time, but I made it. I just finished reading Genesis. I finished the book of Job a couple weeks ago. I must say it has been an amazing journey, and I am so glad that I chose to do it and continue on even where there are days when it just feels a bit difficult to continue to read. There were many days where the reading did not happen. There are days when I binge read, because I cannot get enough. All in all, I think I am about 3 days off track. I am hoping to catch up this week, and definitely stay caught up. I need to rediscover a routine, as I resume my daily bible reading plan. It is easy for me to get busy or distracted. I need to make a continuous effort to be in the Word more this month!

Some highlight of this journey so far:

• The Life of Job. 
• Nothing is hidden, but all is seen in his struggles. He is seen complaining and arguing with God. He is rebuked for his ways in the end. For me, it has been an asset to see how Job handled his struggles. Many would do much worse. His faith carried him through his struggles, even on the hardest moments. Seeing Job's struggle has helped me with my own struggle. I have not given up. I keep fighting. It is knowing that others have walked the road of hardship that gives me strength. I find strength in reading about Job's struggle.
• The Life of Abraham
• His faith is tested by taking his son to the mountain to possibly sacrifice him. Instead, God removes the need for the sacrificing of his son. It was a test of his faith. The test of our faith brings us to our knees, and makes us realize which we love more: Family or God. There are moments when Abraham was asked to leave his family behind, and he took his nephew with him. What would have happened if he had left Lot at home? Would he have a wife who ended up looking back at the past so to speak, and turn into a grain of salt? Probably not..
• The Life of Jacob
• Jacob is seen stealing his brother's blessing from his father. He ends up on the road to hopefully avoid the sword of his brother Esau. Once he finally comes into contact with Esau after many years apart, his brother embraces him. Our problems may not be so easily solved, but they are solvable. We do not have to run to avoid facing them and risk facing greater dangers.
• The Life of Joseph
• Joseph handled his struggles with grace. His brothers threw him in a well, and he managed to get out. They sold him to Egyptians, and God enabled him to succeed as a servant of his master's house. His master's wife screams rape, and God uses his time in jail to help others' know the meaning of their dreams. The Pharaoh gets his dream interpreted by Joseph, and he is put in a high position of helping others fight againest a world wide famine. He reunites with his brothers and does no harm to them---instead he chooses to bless them continually!

I am looking forward to seeing what Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers  has in store for this month's journey! To read more about what I am reading and learning, click here